Sophomore shortstop Darnell Sweeney made up for an error that allowed No. 4 Florida to break a 2-2 tie in the eighth inning on Tuesday by lining a two-out, two-run double to center in the ninth to give UCF a 4-3 win in Gainesville.

“It was such a big win for us because we were able to bounce back (after the Southern Miss series). Every time we lose we find a way to come back in the next game and play really hard,” said Sweeney. “You have to get that big hit and that’s what we did today, we got the big hit and came out with a win.”

The victory was the fourth for UCF (20-9) over a top-five team since 2008. The Knights are now 5-5 against ranked teams this season and No. 32 in the first official RPI report released by the NCAA. Florida ranked No. 1 while six of the nine teams in Conference USA debuted in the top 50.

Sweeney went 2-for-5 with two RBIs in the win. His double to dead-center in the ninth for UCF was followed by the game’s final three outs of the game by centerfielder Ronnie Richardson, who stepped to the mound and retired the second, third and fourth hitters in the Florida (24-6) lineup.

“Coach (Terry) Rooney told me that if we went ahead I would have the ninth,” said Richardson, who struck out two. “When Darnell had that big hit I got the call. So I just went out there and tried to smother them, pound the strike zone and make them hit my pitch.”

Ryan Breen and Erik Hempe hit solo home runs to tie the game at 2-all. Breen went 2-for-4 with two runs while Beau Taylor finished 2-for-3 with a run scored. Each team recorded seven hits on the day.

UCF used six relievers over the final seven innings, allowing six hits and one walk while striking out four over that span.

Making his second-career start after earning a win over No. 20 Stetson last week, UCF righty Chase Bradford had nobody on, two outs and two strikes in the first inning but ended up hitting a batter and issuing two walks to load the bases. Florida took advantage when designated hitter Austin Maddox lined a two-run single to center.

UCF gets back into C-USA play this weekend when it hosts Tulane beginning Friday at 6:30 p.m.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

– Women’s College Lacrosse – No. 9 Rollins 14, Edinboro 7

Two Tars tallied hat tricks to help Rollins improve to 8-3 on the season. Marissa Giannerini and Sophie Townsend each scored three goals while Erica Pagliarulo finished with two goals and an assist.

– College Softball – No. 12 Tampa 3, No. 7 Rollins 1

Rollins dropped the final game in the series to Tampa, giving the Tars its first loss of the season in Sunshine State Conference competition. Rollins saw its 32-game winning streak end as they dropped to 34-2 overall and 11-1 in the SSC. Jessica Moreland finished 2-for-3 with an RBI. Hope Bitzer pitched five innings and struck out seven batters in relief.

– College Baseball – No. 20 Southern Miss 5, No. 23 UCF 2

Following a 13-2 loss on Saturday, UCF got swept by Southern Miss after falling 5-2 in the third and final game of the series. UCF trailed 3-1 in the fourth inning but was unable to tie the game when Erik Hempe had his line drive towards left field turned into a double play by the Golden Eagles.

= SATURDAY, April 2, 2011 =

– Women’s College Track & Field – Florida Relays

Two UCF school records fell at the Florida Relays in Gainesville as Dominique Booker, Aurieyall Scott, Lynne Layne and Sheila Paul set new standards. The 4×100-meter relay time of 43.75, set just the week before, was replaced by a 43.53 effort. The 4×200-meter relay mark of 1:32.81 from three years ago was replaced by a time of 1:26.34.

– College Baseball – Rollins 15, Lynn 7

The Tars dropped the first game of the doubleheader 12-3 before returning to the field and snapping a five-game losing streak. Rollins jumped out to a 9-3 lead after scoring runs in the second, third and fourth innings. Brian Lattanzi went 3-for-5 and John Avanzino finished 2-for-4 with 5 RBI. Matt White got the win with four strikeouts over 5.2 innings to help the Tars improve to 19-14 overall and 2-7 in the Sunshine State Conference.

– Arena Football League – Arizona 48, Predators 47

Nick Hill was intercepted in the final minute of the game before the Arizona Rattlers went on to score a touchdown and two-point conversion with eight seconds left to shock the Orlando Predators. Arizona outscored the Preds 22-6 in the final quarter after Orlando jumped out to a 21-0 lead after one quarter of play. Hill threw five touchdowns but was intercepted twice while Bobby Sippio led the Preds with 12 receptions for 149 yards and a score.

– Florida Football Alliance – Rage 37, Duval 6

Former UCF and University High School quarterback Kyle Israel threw touchdown passes to Preston McGann and Jeremiah Chatman as the Orlando Rage closed out the regular season with a 10-0 mark. With the win over the Duval Panthers, the Rage wrapped up consecutive unbeaten seasons and improved to 31-1 over the past three years. Postseason play begins this weekend. The Rage will host the winner between the Jacksonville Knights and Daytona Beach Wildcats on April 16.

– United Soccer Leagues – Richmond 2, Lions 0

Richmond scored on a penalty kick near the end of the first half and tacked on another goal in the 84th minute to turn away Orlando City in its first-ever USL Pro game.

– Women’s College Tennis – No. 4 Barry 8, No. 9 Rollins 1

Rollins senior Margaret Junker, ranked No. 17 in the nation, won the lone match for the Tars as she defeated No. 33 Angie Werschel 7-5, 3-6, 10-5.

= FRIDAY, April 1, 2011 =

– College Baseball – No. 20 Southern Miss 6, No. 23 UCF 5

UCF manager Terry Rooney and pitcher Ben Lively were tossed from the game, but the Knights nearly pulled the upset after being tied at 3-all in the ninth. UCF fell to 19-7 overall and 2-2 in Conference USA. The Knights committed a season-high five errors and are now 4-3 against ranked teams.

– Men’s College Tennis – No. 9 Rollins 6, No. 26 Saint Leo 3

The Tars improved to 12-7 overall and 3-2 in the Sunshine State Conference as No. 5 Jeff Morris overcame a loss in the first set to put away Matt Nicholson-Lewis 4-6, 6-3, 6-3. Morris and Arturo Baravalle were upended in doubles play by the No. 23 pairing of Nicholson-Lewis and Victor Lozier 8-5.

– Women’s College Lacrosse – No. 2 Lock Haven 12, No. 9 Rollins 7

Tied at 5-all at the halftime break, Rollins (7-3) could not keep up with unbeaten Lock Haven (9-0) while on the road. Tori Snow and Marissa Giannerini each scored two goals in the loss for Rollins.

– Women’s College Track & Field – Florida Relays

UCF freshman Aurieyall Scott set a new school record in the 200 meter with a time of 22.98 at the Florida Relays in Gainesville. Classmate Dominique Booker previously held the mark at 23.70, set last week at the UCF Invitational.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

During Tuesday’s 8-2 win over No. 20 Stetson at Jay Bergman Field, Darnell Sweeney and Erik Hempe each drove in two runs while Chase Bradford struck out four in six innings in his first career start for the Knights.

The game was played in front of 1,430 fans and served as merely another obstacle along the road to returning to the postseason for the first time since 2004.

“It’s been a while since UCF baseball has been in the Top 25, but the fact that it’s only No. 23 means we still got a ways to go,” Sweeney said afterwards. “We’re happy where we are but we’re not satisfied.”

UCF (19-6) was playing in its first game as a ranked team since 2008. They’ll get right back at it on Wednesday in DeLand in a rematch with the Hatters (20-6) at 6:30 p.m. The Knights lead the all-time series against Stetson 68-48 and have won the last eight meetings dating back to 2007.

Sweeney doubled in the first and singled in the fourth, finishing 2-for-4 on the night with a run scored. He also stole a base following his first at-bat and was later caught stealing in the sixth inning.

Hempe went 3-for-3 and was walked twice while Travis Shreve (2-for-5), Jonathan Griffin (2-for-4) and Beau Taylor (2-for-4) rounded out the Knights with multiple hits.

UCF tallied 14 hits in all as a team and led 6-1 after four innings.

Nick Cicio and outfielder Ronnie Richardson closed out the final three innings on the rubber in fine fashion. Despite loading the bases at one point late in the game, Cicio struck out three and walked two in 2.1 innings of work. Richardson cleaned up from there by putting away two of the three batters he faced.

The Knights entered the game with an overall earned run average of 2.80, 200 strikeouts and a .978 fielding percentage as a team. They did not disappoint in either category.

“Compared to last year our pitching staff is a complete turnaround,” Sweeney noted. “We get guys that come out and throw up zeros, throw strikes from the beginning and get you ground balls. It’s a great feeling playing behind guys that can keep you in the game like that.”

UCF and Stetson were facing off against each other as ranked opponents for the first time since 2001. The win pushed the Knights’ record against ranked teams to 4-2 on the season.

But there’s still plenty of baseball to be played and not a lot of time to relish in the new-found attention that comes from being ranked in the Top 25.

“We’ve got to get better everyday and make sure that we show the world that we’re capable of being ranked for the rest of the season,” said Sweeney.

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Brian Adkins tossed three scoreless innings of relief and Joe Rogers pitched a perfect ninth to deliver a 5-4 victory on the road against No. 23 Rice on Sunday. Combined with a 7-2 triumph on Friday, the Knights (18-6, 2-1) posted their first series win over the Owls (16-11, 1-2). Next up for UCF is a home-and-home against No. 28 Stetson beginning Tuesday in Orlando.

“That was a tremendous team effort for the entire weekend,” said head coach Terry Rooney. “We call every Sunday ‘Championship Sunday.’ Regardless of the first two days, Sunday is always the most important game of the series. For today’s game, all you have to do is look at the back-and-forth of the score, and then to see us hold on late on the road certainly speaks volumes about the confidence and presence of our team.”

It was the first time UCF won its C-USA opening series since 2006 when it took two of three against Marshall. Dating back to last year, the Knights have now claimed the series in each of their last two C-USA road trips (also defeated Tulane in New Orleans to end the 2010 campaign).

Adkins entered in the fourth inning in a bases-loaded jam with Rice leading 3-2 and proceeded to shut down the Owls. The lefty, who had only started midweek games until Sunday, moved his record to 4-1 after allowing just three hits.

“Basically I was just trying to fill up the zone, and once again the defense played great behind me,” said Adkins. “My mindset was a little bit different coming out of the pen. But in each individual inning I was trying to close out the game. Each inning was its own entity for me, so I was just trying to go hitter by hitter.”

Adkins gave way to Rogers in the seventh, who picked up his fifth save of the year, highlighted by retiring hitters two, three and four in the ninth.

“I was mentally prepared in the bullpen when I saw how well Brian pitched,” said Rogers. “It was cool how (facing potential No. 1 MLB pick Anthony Rendon in the ninth) was drawn up. I wanted to go after Rendon because he is potentially a high-draft pick, so I threw him a two-seamer and I guess it just tailed on him and he hit it to Darnell Sweeney at short. He made a great play to end it. And Beau Taylor did an excellent job behind the plate for me.”

Jonathan Griffin banged out three hits. Ronnie Richardson reached base four times with two hits and a pair of walks, and D.J. Hicks and Erik Hempe also rapped out two hits.

The Knights led 2-0 entering the bottom of the fourth inning, where Rice posted three runs against Ray Hanson. Three more runs over the course of the fifth and sixth innings put UCF up 5-3 before the Owls posted a run in the eighth.

Rice won the second game of the series 6-2 on Saturday.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

– Men’s College Lacrosse – Lenoir-Rhyne 13, Rollins 12

Despite a program record six goals in one game by junior Austin Ricci the Rollins Tars dropped to 2-8 overall and 0-6 in the Deep South Conference on Sunday. It’s the first-ever conference win for Lenoir-Rhyne, who broke an 11-all tie with under eight minutes to play to take the lead for good.

– College Softball – UAB 5, UCF 3

The Knights allowed five runs in the third inning and never recovered as they dropped to 12-22 overall and 3-6 in Conference USA. The Blazers (24-9, 8-1 C-USA) took two of three games after splitting with UCF on Saturday.

= SATURDAY, March 26, 2011

– Arena Football League – Predators 68, Blaze 53

Orlando Predators quarterback Nick Hill went 24-of-36 for 331 yards and eight touchdowns while Rayshaun Kizer intercepted three passes and ran one back for a score Saturday night. The Predators (2-0) downed the Utah Blaze (1-1) in its first game at the new Amway Center in front of 12,186 fans.

– Women’s College Track & Field – UCF Invitational

Freshman Dominique Booker set two new school records on Saturday during the second day of competition at the UCF Invitational. Booker set a new mark in the 200-meter run with a time of 23.70, good for fourth place and enough to surpass the previous mark set by Sonnisha Williams (23.79) just last week. Booker also joined Aurieyall Scott, Sheila Paul and Tyler Smith in the 4×400-meter relay, where the group took first place with a time of 43.73 (previous mark was 45.05).

– United Soccer Leagues – Lions 2, USF 0

The Orlando City Lions wrapped up its preseason schedule Saturday in Tampa, where they got goals from Yordany Alvarez (30th minute) and Jamie Watson (60th) on assists from Devorn Jorsling in the win. The Lions finished the preseason schdule 6-2 with wins over Philadelphia Union (1-0) and Toronto FC (1-0) of Major League Soccer as well as Rollins (3-1), UCF (5-1) and Stetson (5-3). Orlando City lost to FC Dallas (1-0) and BK Hacken (3-2). The reguler season begins this weekend on the road against Richmond.

– Men’s College Tennis – UCF 4, NO. 53 DePaul 3

Facing their seventh nationally-ranked opponent in a row, the Knights clinched the win over DePaul when freshman Mitch Thams won the final two sets of a 6-7, 6-3, 6-4 match against Filip Dzanko at No. 5 singles.

= FRIDAY, March 25, 2011

– College Baseball – UCF 7, No. 23 Rice 2

Despite a school-record eight walks, freshman Ben Lively improved to 5-0 on the season while D.J. Hicks went 3-for-4 at the plate and pitched a scoreless inning in UCF’s Conference USA opener at Rice (15-10, 0-1 C-USA). Lively is the first pitcher at UCF to start the season perfect in five games since Ray Rodriguez and Darren Newlin did so in 2005. Joe Rogers picked up the save. The Knights trailed 2-0 after four innings before scoring three times in the top of the fifth. UCF turned a season-high four double plays in the win and improved to 17-5 overall and 1-0 in C-USA.

– Women’s College Track & Field – UCF Invitational

Sophomore Sonnisha Williams broke her own school record in the long jump by five-and-a-half inches to take first place in the event during the opening day of the UCF Invitational. Williams went 20-11.75/6.39m at the UCF Track and Field Complex to best the previous mark of 20-6.25/6.25m set last May at the NCAA East Regional. Competition picks back up on Saturday with Florida, Miami, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Tennessee and Rhode Island taking part.

– National Basketball Association – Magic 95, Nets 85

The Magic won its fifth game in a row after pulling away from New Jersey with just over eight minutes to play in the fouth quarter. Hedo Turkoglu went 8-for-11 from the field for 20 points, 13 assists and no turnovers in the win while Dwight Howard finished with 21 points, 14 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals. Already playing without J.J. Redick, Orlando (47-26) lost Jameer Nelson to a knee injury in the first half.

– College Softball – Rollins 10, Lynn 0

The Tars improved to 30-1 overall and 7-0 in the Sunshine State Conference in the opening game of its series against Lynn (6-26, 1-6 SSC). Rollins scored eight runs in the second inning as Krista Rodden, Lake Mary alum Hope Bitzer, Winter Springs alum Christine Roser and Hilary Brown drove in runs. Kristen Frame, the reigning confernce player of the week, struck out six in five innings.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

On Tuesday night at Jay Bergman Field the Knights (13-4) blew a 4-2 lead in the eighth inning against rival USF (7-9) en route to a 6-5 loss in front of an announced crowd of 1,711.

Spoiled was an impressive outing on the mound for sophomore Brian Adkins, who went 6.2 innings before being pulled in favor of D.J. Hicks with the top of the USF lineup due to return to the plate.

Adkins allowed two runs on six hits and struck out four, while yielding his first walk of the season in the top of the seventh.

“He’s not a hard throwing guy so he’s got to be pretty perfect with his pitches and he’s got to really be able to mix and match,” Rooney said afterwards. “I think once he got to that third and fourth time around with those guys, I think they were really starting to get to him.”

Hicks (1-1) got hit hard from there, allowing four runs on five hits in 1.1 innings of work in the loss as he was unable to find his spot against the Bulls.

Not that he had much trouble getting comfortable at the plate.

Hicks crushed his second homer of the night over the wall in center field in the bottom of the eighth to get UCF within a run, but the Knights went down swinging the rest of the way.

His first homer of the game came in the fourth inning on a two-run shot to right field that put UCF up 3-0. Jonathan Griffin sent a blast over the left field wall earlier that same inning.

Beau Taylor also drove in a run for the Knights in the seventh inning on a single to shallow right field.

The Knights left nine runners stranded.

The loss to USF marks the third close contest UCF has dropped this season. They suffered back-to-back losses to Dartmouth (8-6 in 10 innings) and Mount St. Mary’s (2-1) in early March. UCF also dropped a 7-2 decision to Southern Louisiana on Feb. 26.

The rematch with the Bulls takes place May 3 in Tampa. UCF leads the all-time series 55-52 dating back to 1973. The Knights defeated No. 25 USF 9-5 on April 28, 2009 for its last big win on its own diamond.

UCF hosts Columbia this weekend before going on the road to face Miami on March 22. The Conference USA schedule begins with Rice in Houston, Texas March 25-27.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

UCF finished out 2010 under the direction of Rooney with its most wins since 2005 (33-22), and the most wins in Conference USA (10-14) since joining the league.

Siena finished 27-27 overall last season. They are led by power-hitting second baseman Dan Paolini, who was tops in the NCAA in home runs per game by going yard 26 times in 53 games.

The Knights come off of a season where they batted .343 at the plate but struggled on the mound with a 6.01 earned run average.

It seems there is room for optimism, though.

“Our pitching’s better,” Rooney said earlier in the week. “When we looked at it from a recruiting standpoint, the No. 1 thing we had to get better at was pitching.”

UCF ushers out a pair of junior college transfers to start the new season. Danny Winkler will be on the mound on Friday followed by DeLand native Matt Collins on Saturday.

Rooney believes his bullpen will also be much improved when it comes time to change arms between the sixth and eighth innings of games. Chase Bradford and Lake Brantley alum D.J. Hicks are expected to be the major contributors there.

While new faces make up the pitching rotation for the Knights, several young and familiar faces will look to build on the experience they received in their first year at the collegiate level.

Last year Olympia High School alum Chris Taladay, who is currently recovering from injury, was named C-USA Freshman of the Year while shortstop Darnell Sweeney and pitcher Joe Rogers were named to the all-freshman team.

And those are just three of the five freshmen that earned regular playing time near the end of the season.

“Those guys are a year older and obviously carrying themselves with a little bit of confidence,” Rooney said.

– What to watch for –

Former UCF players Chris Duffy and Shane Brown will be honored before tonight’s game. First pitch is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Saturday’s game begins at 4 p.m. and Sunday’s matchup starts at 1 p.m.

Junior catcher Beau Taylor carries over a 21-game hitting streak from last season, good for third on the school’s career list behind Mike Myers (26) and Brown (22).

Conference USA coaches have picked UCF to finish fourth in the league behind Rice, Southern Miss and East Carolina.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

All 33 members of the roster are featured, with several players featured in key roles:

Darnell Sweeney = Jake Taylor

Brennan Dobbins = Eddie Harris

Joe Rogers = Wild Thing Rick Vaughn

Jonathan Griffin = Pedro Cerrano

Beau Taylor = Roger Dorn

Chris Taladay = Lou Brown

Ronnie Richardson = Willie Mays Hayes

UCF has already kicked off the preseason with its first three practices, which will continue six days a week leading up to Opening Day on Feb. 18 against Siena. Season ticket information is available by visiting UCFAthletics.com or by calling 407-823-1000.

– (email JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com and follow at Facebook or @OrlandoSportsJC ) –

In the second day of the MLB First-Year Player Draft, local baseball players began to be selected by big league clubs. Below is a look at who they were, where they were picked, and what team made the call.

– 2010 MLB Draft Top-10 Local Picks –

– LHP Justin Nicolino (University) selected No. 80 overall by Toronto in 2nd round. WESH Video

– RHP A.J. Cole (Oviedo) selected No. 116 overall by Washington in 4th round.

– CF Mason Williams (West Orange) selected No. 145 overall by NY Yankees in 4th round.

– LHP Alex Burgos (Osceola/State College of Florida) selected No. 163 overall by Detroit in 5th round.

– LHP John Gast (Lake Brantley/Florida State) selected No. 199 overall by St. Louis in 6th round.

– RF Jose Dore (The First Academy) selected No. 244 overall by San Diego in 8th round.

– SS Mike Freeman (Edgewater/Clemson) selected No. 331 overall by Arizona in 11th round.

– RHP Cody Allen (Boone/UCF/St. Petersburg JC) selected No. 480 overall by Cleveland in 16th round.

– RHP Owen Dew (UCF) selected No. 630 overall by Cleveland in 21st round.

– C Shane Brown (Winter Park/UCF) selected No. 715 overall by NY Yankees in 23rd round.

– More Local MLB Draft Picks –

LF Chris Duffy (Cypress Creek/UCF) at No. 801 overall to Philadelphia (26th round); CF Jay Gonzalez (Freedom) No. 833 overall to Boston (27th round); RHP Tim Griffin (Rollins College) No. 852 overall to Seattle (28th round); LHP Ronald Schreurs (Freedom) No. 1,296 overall to Toronto (43rd round); LHP Jimmy Hodgskin (Bishop Moore) No. 1,311 overall to Philadelphia (43rd round); OF Tyler Marincov (Timber Creek) No. 1,453 overall to Detroit (48th round).

– Draft Notes –

– The UCF Knights have had nine different players selected in the MLB Draft over the last three years, including Brown, who has now been drafted twice by the Yankees. Last season he was picked in the 47th round. In all, UCF has had its baseball players drafted by MLB organizations 73 times since 1979. Dew was taken in the 33rd round in 2009 by the Los Angeles Angels. Duffy, who was selected in the 9th round out of high school, completed his four-year career as a finalist for the 2010 USA Baseball Golden Spikes Award as one of the top amateur players in the nation.

– The Florida Collegiate Summer League had the highest number of current or former baseball players drafted over the three-day MLB selection process as 25 FCSL players were taken, including five in the first eight rounds. A complete list of draftees is available at Florida League.

– NCAA Track and Field Championships –

UCF sent a school-record 11 student-athletes to the NCAA East Championships and came away with three who qualified for the NCAA Outdoor Track & Field Championships, beginning Wednesday in Eugene, Ore.

Sophomores Jackie Coward and Sheila Paul, and freshman Sonnisha Williams will be competing at Hayward Field on the campus of the University of Oregon from June 9-12.

Jackie Coward

Paul is scheduled to run in one of three semifinal heats of the 100-meter dash on Wednesday at 6 p.m., with the finals scheduled for Friday at 5:32 p.m. Coward competes in one of three semifinal heats of the 100-meter hurdles on Thursday night at 5:55 p.m., with the finals scheduled for Saturday at 11:09 a.m. Williams competes in the trials and finals of the long jump on Saturday starting at 9:30 a.m.

At stake are All-American accolades (finishing among the top-eight in each respective event), which would be the first for UCF in outdoor competition. The Knights have previously had four NCAA Indoor All-Americans, including Coward in 2009.

Coward is ranked seventh nationally in the 100mH with a season-best time of 12.99. She is seeded No. 11 after clocking in at 13.11 at the east championships. Paul recently ran a personal-best 11.36 and is ranked No. 16 overall entering the 100m. She is seeded No. 22 based on her time of 11.54 in the east championship finals. Williams is ranked No. 20 nationally in the long jump, No. 2 among freshman, after measuring in at a school-record jump of 20-6.25/6.25m at the east championships. She is seeded No. 18 at the event.

– Former Goalkeeper Makes Pro Soccer Debut –

Last month former UCF men’s soccer goalkeeper Sean Johnson made his professional debut for Major League Soccer’s Chicago Fire, playing all 90 minutes in a 1-0 exhibition loss to Paris Saint-Germain in the opener of the Chicago Sister Cities International Cup at Toyota Park in Chicago.

Johnson, the 51st pick of the 2010 MLS SuperDraft, made three saves in the game as Clement Chantome got a shot by him in the 14th minute. A two-year starter for UCF in 2007 and 2008, Johnson became the first UCF player to be drafted by an MLS team.

“I take full responsibility,” said Johnson of the goal against. “I was in good position, the ball hit a little divot and I should’ve gotten a little bit of a better push forward and parried it away to be safe. At the end of the day, my defense knows I’ll take the goal on me.”

In 2009, Johnson passed on playing for UCF after he was selected to play with the United States U-20 National Team. He participated in the U-20 World Cup this past fall.

Aside from the outcome of his professional debut, he was just happy to get some playing time.

“It was a good opportunity,” Johnson said. “I think you learn from playing and this being my first game I think I did alright.”

– Baseball Team Nabs Five C-USA Honors –

Among the five Conference USA award winners on UCF’s baseball team, Olympia alum Chris Taladay came away with perhaps the top honor.

The third baseman was recently voted as the 2010 C-USA Freshman of the Year, becoming the first Knight to claim a C-USA individual postseason award since the Knights joined the league in 2006.

Other award winners included senior outfielders Chris Duffy and Shane Brown, who were both first team selections. Taladay joined shortstop Darnell Sweeney and relief pitcher Joe Rogers on the All-Freshman Team. All three were also named Louisville Slugger Freshmen All-Americans by Collegiate Baseball.

Taladay is UCF’s first conference freshman of the year since Dee Brown was tabbed the top frosh in 2002, when the Knights competed in the Atlantic Sun.

In 2010, he ranked in the top-five of all C-USA freshmen in batting average (.352), at-bats (210), runs (49), hits (74), doubles (19), homers (eight), RBI (47), total bases (117), slugging (.557), OPS (.960) and HBP (10) while leading all freshmen in doubles, total bases, slugging and OPS.

Duffy finished with a .447 batting average, the highest in both UCF and C-USA history. He also led the league with an .850 slugging percentage, 81 RBI and 175 total bases. His 21 home runs set a UCF single-season record and his 43 all-time homers, the last of which came on a grand slam in his last at-bat, ties Bobby Kiser for the school’s career mark.

Brown ranked third in the league with a .428 batting average, which also was the fourth highest in C-USA history. His .541 on-base percentage and 22 HBP topped the conference. He sits in the top-10 in slugging (.692), runs (58), hits (89), doubles (25), total bases (144) and walks (34). In four seasons, Brown hit .363 in his career, which stands as the sixth-best batting average in UCF history.

Duffy and Brown were also named Louisville Slugger/Collegiate Baseball All-Americans as Duffy was awarded a spot on the second team and Brown got a spot on the third team.

The last time a Knight was selected as an All-American was in 2004 when pitchers Matt Fox and Kyle Bono received the accolade. UCF has now had nine All-Americans since it turned Division I in 1985. That list includes Tim Barker in 1985, Chad Mottola in 1992 and Justin Pope, Jason Arnold and Jeremy Kurella in 2001.

Sweeney was the only Knight to start all 55 games this season, finishing 2010 with a .358 batting average, the highest of all freshmen in the league. The shortstop also collected 51 runs, 38 RBI, 14 doubles, a triple, two triples and a UCF-high 17 stolen bases.

Rogers posted a 4-2 record with a 4.50 ERA, appearing in 23 games with three starts. He converted eight save opportunities, which are tied for the third-most saves ever by a Knight. His 43 strikeouts ranked third on the UCF pitching staff.

UCF closed out its season with a 33-22 overall record and a 10-14 mark in Conference USA, which goes down as the most C-USA victories by a UCF squad since joining the league in 2006.

– Softball Team Comes Away With Six C-USA Picks –

A program-record six student-athletes earned All-Conference USA softball honors, including three selections to the league’s first team.

Tiffany Lane, Natalie Land and Ashleigh Cole were the first team picks while Hillary Barrow and Abby McClain made the second team. Marissa Menendez was named to the all-freshman team.

Lane earned a spot on the first team for the second-consecutive year after setting the C-USA record with 21 career triples. She ranked sixth nationally in 2010 with six triples and led the Knights during the regular season in triples, total bases (68) and slugging percentage (.479), while ranking second in batting average (.310), runs scored (25), hits (44), doubles (9), RBI (18) and stolen bases (12).

Land, who was named to the all-freshman team in 2009, put together an impressive sophomore season. The second baseman paced the Knights in batting average (.317), runs scored (29), hits (46), sacrifice hits (15) and stolen bases (17), and sits among the top-10 in C-USA in five different categories.

Cole put together the best season of her career in the circle in 2010. She ended the regular season with a 21-12 record, making her only the fourth pitcher in program history to tally 20 or more wins in a season. She also had a 1.53 ERA, five shutouts and 149 strikeouts in 224.2 innings pitched. Cole ranks in the league’s top-10 in eight different pitching categories.

Cole also earned a spot on the Louisville Slugger/NFCA All-Mideast Region Second Team, becoming the seventh player in program history to be named to an all-region squad.

McClain repeated as a second team selection after being voted to the squad last season. The junior started all 53 games behind the plate for UCF, catching 14 runners stealing and picking off one on the base paths. Offensively, she led UCF in on-base percentage (.399), walks (22) and times hit by pitch (6), while ranking third in batting average (.291), runs (25), hits (43), doubles (7) and home runs (2).

Barrow, one of the Knights’ five seniors, averaged a team-best 0.69 RBI per game as UCF’s No. 3 batter. The third baseman posted a team-high 36 RBI while also leading the squad in runs scored (29), doubles (10), home runs (5) and assists (122). Barrow hit her first career grand slam against Cornell at the UCF Softball Complex, while pacing UCF with eight multiple-RBI games.

Menendez batted .252 on the season with 38 hits, four doubles, three triples and one home run. She was the only freshman on the Knights’ roster to start all 53 regular-season contests, including 24 at first base, 15 as the designated player and 14 at second base. The rookie posted three-game winning RBI, including game-winners against both No. 16 Tennessee and No. 9 Alabama.

The Knights finished the regular season with a 33-20 overall record and a 16-7 league mark.

– (Contact Orlando Sports Central at JC@OrlandoSportsCentral.com) –